What are they afraid of? You.

What do Barack Obama and Donald Trump agree on? How about Nancy Pelosi, and Mitch McConnell? Anything they agree on? How about George Soros, and the Koch brothers? Or the Chamber of Commerce, and the AFL-CIO? Do the Heritage Foundation and Common Cause have something in common?

There is virtual unanimity, across the spectrum of respectable opinion, including everyone named above, that there is something very dangerous in the Constitution. It’s a forgotten provision, which has never actually been used. It’s tucked away in obscurity, in Article V. It’s the mechanism by which the people, acting through their state legislators, can control the federal government, and amend the Constitution.

Over a hundred years ago, the progressive movement was on the verge of using Article V for the first time in American history. At the time, seats in the United States Senate were for sale. A wealthy and ambitious man could go to his state legislature and buy a seat in the Senate. Senators were not being elected by the people, but by state legislators, whose votes could be purchased.

The progressives were determined to end this corruption, and were able to get 30 state legislatures to pass Article V resolutions, calling for a Convention of States to propose a constitutional amendment for direct election of Senators. At the time, 32 states constituted 2/3 of the union, and if the progressives got two more states, an Article V Convention of States would be called.

Terrified that the people would be able to exercise power directly, the Senate caved, and passed a resolution for direct election of senators. That’s how we got the 17th Amendment. For some corrupt senators, it meant the end of their political careers. But it was a price that had to be paid, in order to prevent the use of the dreaded Article V.

All opponents of Article V use the bogeyman of a runaway convention. None of them, except perhaps the loons of the John Birch Society, are actually fearful of a runaway. The whole idea is laughable, preposterous. It’s a way for those fearful of the people to justify their opposition to common sense reforms, like a balanced budget amendment, or campaign finance reform.

For seven years the Reagan Project has sought to promote Article V. It’s had very limited success. The message has not gotten out. We were blacklisted by Facebook a long time ago, and this blog is deemed a threat that must be contained.

In the very near future I’m hopeful of breaking out, and getting widespread attention to the cause. Everyone who reads this blog will be asked to help. (No, I’m not asking for contributions.) It will cost nothing, and only take a few minutes of your time.

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Fritz Pettyjohn
PO Box 100
Standard, CA 95373
fpettyjohn@hotmail.com

What is the Reagan Project?

The federal government was created when the states ratified the Constitution. The Framers, and the people, wanted it to have limited power, and those limitations were clearly described. The states, and the people, did not surrender their sovereignty, they shared it. Over time those limitations have been exceeded. Today the federal government recognizes virtually no limits to its power. Federalism, the sharing of power, is seen as an inconvenience and can be ignored. Challenges to the power of Congress are ridiculed. The Framers were aware of this danger. They wanted to give the states the power to rein in the federal government, if necessary. Article V was placed in the Constitution for this purpose.
The Reagan Project is a volunteer political organization dedicated to the promotion of Article V, and the power of the states. By adopting an amendment using Article V, the states will restore federalism, and return power to the people. The balance of power, between the states and the federal government, will be restored. Article V is the last safeguard of our freedom. Let’s use it.